The cost of food and drink in Ireland far higher than the EU average, new study finds

@joe:come down from the clouds,the vast majority of this country is getting fleeced week in week out.

@Rob Cahill: here are some facts for you because you don’t have any. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Minimum_wages,_January_2019_(PPS_per_month).png
The graph shows that we have the 6th highest gross min wage when pps is factored in. This is gross and some of the countries ahead of us would deduct significantly more tax from a min wage earner than is deducted in Ireland.
A min wage earner in Ireland working 35 hours a week pays 47 euro tax per month and would earn 17k net. The min wage net in france is around 14k. It is around 13k in Germany. This is why our tax system is much fairer than other EU countries. https://www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/germanys-minimum-wage-is-barely-above-the-poverty-line/a-46797781
The facts are there

@joe: Wonder what the services are like across the countries we’re close to? (transport, housing, health, etc.). Obviously we cant consider an argument that only considers one aspect if an infrastructure of which the various aspects have effects on each other.

@Chonky Racoon: this is a misleading article. According to eurostat we spend the third least on food as a percentage of our income. 9.2 percent in 2017. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20181204-1

@Jordan Osullivan: That’s because we’re spending what little we have after taxes on rent.

@joe: You fail to mention nearly all European countries have free GP care and hospital care also crèche fees and public transport are subsidised by the government in contrast to Ireland which has followed the American model of everything being left to the market. Face it Ireland is a complete rip off.

@joe: Lived here Germany and Sweden. My purchasing power was far better in both despite a lower take home pay.

@joe: You are wasting your time Joe. You provide a reasoned argument backed up with evidence only to be rebutted with “You are wrong”

@Dow Dubrov: Are you and Joe seriously suggesting that we should celebrate someone on a minimum wage in Ireland earning €17k compared to those in other countries who may earn as little as €13k. Yet it isn’t quite so simple, is it?
The same person in most other quoted European countries will have free healthcare, subsidised housing in most, subsidised travel etc. In Ireland that person would be expected to pay for everything, their GP visits, hospital visits including any stays, even if these amount to a trolley in an A&E Department or corridor. Their housing costs, given the rent prices these are likely to be substantial. Any travel expenses, which are significant, they pay in full.
There are other incidental expenses everyone incurs that are significantly in Ireland then everywhere else in Europe. Given all this, the person earning and additional €4k in Ireland is likely to be significantly worse off and have poorer quality of life, it’s erroneous to believe €4k would pay for the differences between the two. As everyone knows this wouldn’t come close.

@Dave Hammond: overlay that map with the map of European average wages and you’ll see no difference. In order to pay the minimum wage + places need to charge more.

@Dave Hammond:
You miss understood. I’m not blaming the EU here. Paddy the electorate is 100% to blame for endorsing the FFG crony’s every time.

@Darren Byrne: with respect thats nonsense – the rip off prices that are +20% in Ireland are not all to do with wage costs at all (- I lived beside a dominoes pizza in Sydney CBD last year – where they pay high rents , wages , insurances etc etc yet pizza offer sell for the equivalent of euro 3.50 compared to 11 euro in ireland -) I just do not buy the minimum wage argument at all – sectors like mortgages here we pay way above the euro average – insurances have been documented more recently (1300% increase in profitability _ – now explain what impact minimum wages have on the mortgage sector ? The insurance sector ? None ! The food and drinks sector here have plenty of min wage workers – and how much doee my local charge for an alcohol free rock shandy – 5.50 a pint – nothing to do with having to meet min wages ,mate – that just profiteering and rip off

@Dave Hammond: you do realize you can just look at dominos australias website. There isn’t any where near the discrepancy in prices you’re describing. Also 5.5 for a pint of rock shandy isn’t profiteering its just the price enough people are willing to pay for it its not as if people need rock shandy. The insurance companies are rightly being investigated but this article is about food and drink or can you not understand that.

@Darren Byrne: 5.5 is the price people r willing to pay = Is ripping people, the off same as vrt??? It’s either ripping people off or the cost is justified by the wages u can’t have it both ways.

@Dougal67: didn’t say it wasn’t a rip off, I said it wasn’t profiteering. Profiteering would be more akin to what a lot of landlords are doing at the moment. But again this article is on food and drink, not VRT.

@Darren Byrne: whats with your attitude ? go and check the prices – to remember to convert dollar to euro too – there is easily 20+ % difference – not to mention the regular mid week deal for 5 australian dollar for a pizza – thats 3.50 for a pizza so actually the variance are exactly as i explained mate beacuse i cant get anything like that in dominoes Dublin – 5.50 a pint of rock shandy – mate thats product that costs around 20 cents – of course 5,50 a pint is profiteering – saying its not an item people ‘need’ is completly moot point – if im driving and want to drink something non alcoholic – its whats on offer – along with 5 euro non alco beers – so stop twisting the argument to avoid the point – you made the point that the average wage was the issue and i completely disagreed with you – by illustrating that costs are rip levels and excessive in all sectors that have nothing to do with wages levels -hence the mortgages and insurance examples – or is that beyond your comprehension.

@Darren Byrne: have you checked the dominoes site in australia yet Darren ? I just logged on and they have a pizza (medium) ,garlic baguette and 1.25lt coke for Aus14.95 – Thats euro 9.12 – thats 9 euro and 12 cents for a medium pizza – a garlic baguette and 1.25lt of coke – the nearest comparable deal in dominoes dublin is over 20 euro – more than double the price – and thats a CBD branch that have to pay the highest rates and rents in Sydney – so despite your smarmy smart ass comments – you are just WRONG.

@Dave Hammond: everyone can see for themselves.
https://www.dominos.com.au/coupon-voucher/vic-port-melbourne-98558
What you seem to be banging on about is a pickup only offer on a traditional pizza which judging by is calorie count is the same as a personal. The offer beside it for 24.95 aus about 15.23 eur is comparable to their meal deal for two here which is 15.50.
https://www.dominos.ie/deals/storedeals. And yes a dominos in the CBD in sydney would have higher rates but would also have higher footfall. It would make its money on quantity. Now as to 5.50 for rock shandy, you don’t have to buy it. There’s no one holding a gun to your head, its not like some life saving medicine its not profiteering. Go check some of the other things you mentioned like motor taxes and compare the rates to those that countries. A better article would have broken down average price compare to income and then see which ones are out of line. Austria looks to be really shafted as they’re the only country who doesn’t fit in the category that would align with their average income.

@Dave Hammond: Well said

@Darren Byrne: I just don’t think that people understand that we clearly have the disposable income to afford these prices. If we didn’t we wouldn’t buy the stuff and prices would come down. People don’t have to go to the pub and spend €100+ Friday and Saturday every weekend. Most people in other European countries couldn’t afford this hence the prices are lower!

@Darren Byrne: can you just accept that i fac tually used one example from real life when i lived in sydney last year and regularly availed of their 5 dollar midweek specials ( yes i collected -i lived next door ) specials and there is nothing comparable available to collect in dominoes dublin – they are all actually twice the price – but you are getting all knickers in a twist over one example – theres tons of them – im telling you my experience returning to dublion last year gave me first hand knowledge of how much we ar ebeing ripped off – you can argue and disagree all you like – but the facts are the facts mate – and the articles and research by european bodies all back it up – so i dunno why you are in such denial…deal with it mate.

@Darren Byrne: eh no its a medium for 5 dollars midweek specials – thats 3euro50 cent – nothing comparable in Dublin mate you cant rant away – not sure why you are in denial we have rip off prices anyways -al;;l the evidence and reports are there to see.

@Bryan Kelly: Well, if you want it explained,The commercial rates here are exorbitant The social welfare charges here are exorbitant, The cost of servicing here is exorbitant. All these costs have to be recouped in by the suppliers of food,(as well as all the other services) Where does all these taxes go?——I have already answered this

@Adrian: agree – the biggest discrimination in Ireland today is public sector v private sector – the system provides easy mortgages , job security ( no matter how crap you perform ) – very generous pensions that are not even affordable for average workers and when the crash came only minor pain and reductions expericed by contrast to the very extensive job losses ( not to mention home losses and a shut down of lending for smes etc ) – never mind what the politicians are being paid – the real real real story in ireland is the inequality and structures around public v private and it wont change any time soon

@Dave Hammond: I wouldn’t say anything in modern Ireland is ‘easy’. All of the positives to getting a public sector job are way at the top, after 20 years. People who have started work in the last 10 are goosed, low wages, pensions are there but need to be added to greatly. Plus I don’t see how its the public sectors fault for people in the private sector losing their jobs? (Am I right in thinking you were at the locked doors of the banks when the financial crises hit?) It’s mostly because retirees in Florida care more about their tans that someone trying to provide for a family in Ireland. I do agree that there’s no transparency in public sector OR accountability, there is zero incentive to be good at your job, it really doesn’t matter what you do. If you are good you should be rewarded, and if not you should be fired. I work in both, as is the future of work in Ireland, two jobs, one to pay for insurance, health and transport (oh the irony) and the other to save for taxes.

@thephantomshit: Both Ireland and Switzerland are in the greater that 20% of average. They just went with 4 categories, who knows Switzerland could be 60% more.

@Darren Byrne: Is that the CSO’s average wage from the other day?

I’ve a castle in Bulgaria to sell ye.

@Anne Marie Devlin: although that’s through for median average its more likely the mean average they’re using here.